Health concerns put strain on family

Weighed down by surgery, medical bills and a lingering recession, Heather Harper and her family have faced a hard year.

GARY PANETTA

Weighed down by surgery, medical bills and a lingering recession, Heather Harper and her family have faced a hard year.

The mother of four children - Zach, 14; Josh, 12; Sean, 8; and Alex, 4 - faced spinal surgery in the spring. Sean struggles with cerebral palsy; Zach and her husband, Kevin, have had medical issues of their own. Alex meanwhile is awaiting tests for autism.

Meanwhile, Kevin, a truck driver, has seen his pay reduced even as the financial strain of medical costs continue. Given her own health issues and the need to care for Sean, Harper isn’t able to work.

Although Harper wrote to the Journal Star Christmas Fund for a food basket and school backpacks for her children, she knows her situation isn’t unique.

A lot of people are in this Eureka family’s situation: Working hard yet increasingly squeezed between medical bills and an economy that doesn’t reward work the way it once did.

“I know we’re not the only ones having problems. I know a lot of people who have never thought about (asking for help) — but they’ve lost their jobs or their wages have been cut,” she said. “It’s just amazing to see how many people (are looking for help) this year.”

Indeed, the Harper family’s difficulties have a familiar ring to anyone who has tried to negotiate health insurance in the United States.

Are eye glasses a medical necessity or not? Harper’s primary insurance won’t cover them. What about the ankle brace that Sean, who has cerebral palsy, needs — a brace that needs to be replaced every six months or so for the growing boy? Don’t assume coverage for that is a foregone conclusion either, especially if Easter Seals helped procure the brace.

“It’s a lot of pressure,” Harper said. “You never know what insurance is going to cover and what they won’t. Like my son’s (ankle) brace. This is crazy. They won’t cover anything for Easter Seals. It’s out of network.”

Fortunately, her secondary insurance stepped in with a letter saying it would be covered — a letter Harper happened to receive the day she was interviewed.

“When you’ve got a deductible of $7,000, that’s almost four months of checks for my husband,” Harper said. “That’s his whole check for four months. When you’ve got six people, it’s a lot even though it’s spread out.”

Now Harper worries that her youngest son Alex — who wasn’t able to hear during his first two years — may have autism. He is awaiting tests. It’s one more factor that creates stresses that go beyond the financial.

“On average we have four to five doctor’s appointments a week, between all the kids and me and my husband,” Harper said.

The Harper family faces a situation that’s not unusual for many families in the Tri-County Area. Please help the Journal Star Christmas Fund reach its goal of $185,000, which it will use to help bring a little bit of Christmas cheer to struggling families.

Gary Panetta can be reached at 686-3132 or gpanetta@pjstar.com.

Total for the day: $11,486

In loving memory of Robert and Laveeta Moody and Ernest and Pia Ori. $50.

In memory of Betty L. Logue. $50.

In memory of Sarah. Bob and Amy O'Neill. $25.

In honor of my father, Ralph Grimm. He is loved and missed. Ralph Grimm Jr. $50.